[Mayflowers]

My problem is that I'm intolerant to eggs, dairy, soy, chicken, beef, flounder, and pork. Are there any successful celiac vegetarians lurking here? Most every post that I've read the people are ex-vegetarians for lack of choices or too hard to cook? Right now I'm eating....turkey... and I've Dr. McDougall's books and his opinion on vegetarianism.

Please share your opinions. I want to say that I love vegetables, maybe more than fruit.

[flagbabyds]

I was a vegetarian until 7th grade, so I ate a lot of different foods and it wasn't that bad, but then my sister forced me to eat turkey (she had been vegetarian too and wanted me to try it) at thanksgiving and I REALLY liked it so that is why i switched.

[AndreaB]

Mayflowers,

Can you eat wild salmon? Do you have any vegetable or fruit allergies? How about beans?

You can eat a successful vegetarian diet. I wouldn't suggest total vegan especially since you can eat turkey. You need to be eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every day to get more of your nutrients in. Beans and other alternate grains (quinoa, millet, rice etc) will be very important.

I have a huge appetite and have found that if I eat meat I stay full longer and don't eat so much. It really depends on each individual person.

I have not read any of McDougalls books but I'm assuming he recommends the lacto-ovo diet. Or does he promote veganism?

[Mayflowers]

Thanks for your replies . Out of all the meats, turkey and chicken were my favs (and lobster). I can eat salmon, but I don't like it that much. I'm not a big fish lover, only fried fish on rye.... I do like seafood, crabs, lobster, clams,

Dr. McDougall is vegan. He doesn't advocate dairy, soy, or added oils. He's not even crazy about nuts. He thinks they should be eaten sparingly. His wife thinks soy is ok so they add it into their plan but he thinks it's too high in fat.

[AndreaB]

How does he deal with protein? Does he advocate the typical gluten canned foods? Please share. I hadn't looked into his stuff since I was already vegan. I'm also mildly allergic to gliadin which is in all the alternate grains except rice I think....I'm not sure about the rice though.

You've got my curiosity up now.

[ÆON]

Mayflowers, on Sep 10 2006, 07:52 AM, said:

My problem is that I'm intolerant to eggs, dairy, soy, chicken, beef, flounder, and pork. Are there any successful celiac vegetarians lurking here? Most every post that I've read the people are ex-vegetarians for lack of choices or too hard to cook? Right now I'm eating....turkey... and I've Dr. McDougall's books and his opinion on vegetarianism.

Please share your opinions. I want to say that I love vegetables, maybe more than fruit.

I've been a vegetarian for about 8 years and I don't think that it's too hard to be a celiac and a vegetarian.
However, it sounds like your intolerant to quite a lot of things.
If you're a vegetarian for health reasons then I don't see any reason not to eat it.

If you're a vegetarian for ethical reasons then maybe start thinking about beans, chickpeas, nuts, rice to get more protein. Nuts do have alot of fat but it's supposed to be "good" fat.

[Lauren M]

Mayflowers, on Sep 10 2006, 11:52 AM, said:

My problem is that I'm intolerant to eggs, dairy, soy, chicken, beef, flounder, and pork. Are there any successful celiac vegetarians lurking here? Most every post that I've read the people are ex-vegetarians for lack of choices or too hard to cook? Right now I'm eating....turkey... and I've Dr. McDougall's books and his opinion on vegetarianism.

Please share your opinions. I want to say that I love vegetables, maybe more than fruit.

Mayflowers,

I consider myself a "successful" Celiac vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian since I was 4 years old, and am now 24. When I was diagnosed with Celiac at age 21, I wasn't about to change something that was more than a lifetyle for me!

BUT with that said, my staples for getting necessary protein DO include eggs, dairy, and lots of soy products. I am lucky that gluten is my only (known) intolerance. I'm trying to think of other non-meat vegeterian sources of protein you could have... those rice cheeses (but they may not be totally soy or even casein free), beans, nuts.... not really substantial sources of protein.

Also - I'm not familiar with Dr. McDougall - do you mind sharing his theory?

I LOVE veggies, too (always have - even as a kid I loved spinach and lima beans!) but I notice I do feel better when I'm able to add some substance (read: protein) in there with them.

- Lauren

[pinkpei77]

i have been vegetarian/vegan for 17 years.
im now 29.
i will NEVER stop being vegetarian or vegan.
i dont feel that there is a valid substantial excuse for "stopping" being vegetarian.
its completely possible to be gluten-free and vegetarian, even vegan.
you can get all the nutrietns, protein, etc. if you eat the correct foods.
all it takes is a little research and a little effort.
ALL of us here have to do that for the (gluten-free) foods we eat anyway, so its not that much more work.
i know alot of people use the excuse of being intolerant to soy for "quitting" being vegetarian.
and i thought "yeah, that might be harder"
so i "tested" it and didnt eat soy for almsot 2 months.
yes.. it was harder and the first few weeks sucked.
but everyone should think back to their first few weeks of being gluten-free, im sure that sucked too.
i know mine did.
but as time goes by it gets easier and easier.
it takes our bodies 28 days to recognize something as "habit"
so you just have to let your body get used to it.
i think you should totally go for it and really research what foods give you what you need.

[Mayflowers]

Yeah, I'm pretty intolerant to a few things. Now I think rice. I've been eating a lot of rice and my knee is killing me all of a sudden!

Dr. Mc Dougall is an MD in California who has books out about being a vegan. He had a stroke at 18 and he realized it was his diet. He developed an extremely low fat vegan diet and he has website. www.drmcdougall.com His most famous book is "12 Days to Dynamic Health"

[ÆON]

Mayflowers, on Sep 10 2006, 05:59 PM, said:

Yeah, I'm pretty intolerant to a few things. Now I think rice. I've been eating a lot of rice and my knee is killing me all of a sudden!

Dr. Mc Dougall is an MD in California who has books out about being a vegan. He had a stroke at 18 and he realized it was his diet. He developed an extremely low fat vegan diet and he has website. www.drmcdougall.com His most famous book is "12 Days to Dynamic Health"

I looked at his website and I didn't see a whole of scientific information. Lots of people in the world eat traditionally "bad" diets and they don't suffer from more disease because of it.

Having a medical condition or intolerance is one thing but promising diet as nearly a cure-all is another.

[AndreaB]

From everything I've read all diets have pluses and minuses. Cancers of various forms can come from any diet.

I know my family needs to focus on more fruits and veggies, but we have left the vegan diet due to our allergies and intolerances. That's just us and we don't expect everyone to follow in our footsteps. Even as vegans we relied too much on gluten and soy and didn't eat enough fruits and veggies.

[Mayflowers]

ÆON, on Sep 10 2006, 10:22 PM, said:

Having a medical condition or intolerance is one thing but promising diet as nearly a cure-all is another.

Seems like most doctors are doing that now. Atkins, Ornish, Williams, Mercola, Weil, McDougall, Lark...to name a few.. I get a ton of offers for health newsletters from different MD's selling their theories.

I happen to love vegetables so maybe it could work for me. Oh well, I could always eat fish and say I'm a vegetarian like most ovo-lacto's do.

[queenofhearts]

I think you can do it if you can tolerate beans (other than soy) & nuts, but since eggs & dairy are off your list, you will need B12 supplements to avoid pernicious anemia.

My anemia is the main reason I eat any meat... I'm sort of "veggie by nature." I was lacto-ovo for many years (& no, you can't eat fish & be lacto-ovo-- that's just dairy & eggs).

[Mayflowers]

queenofhearts, on Sep 11 2006, 10:13 AM, said:

My anemia is the main reason I eat any meat... I'm sort of "veggie by nature." I was lacto-ovo for many years (& no, you can't eat fish & be lacto-ovo-- that's just dairy & eggs).

I was making a joke... I know a lot of ovo-lacto vegetarians who say they are vegetarians and eat fish. I react to some beans. I get a rash from them.

[shai76]

I used to be a vegan before developing all these allergies. I was allergic to just milk, and was a vegetarian, so I just went vegan. I was over-weight and tried McDougall. I don't think it's very healthy. Despite what Mcdougall says people do need fat and protein in their diets. I started losing my hair, but that could have been from the undiagnosed celiacs, so who knows. I just don't think anymore that diet is something to experiment around with too much. It can have consequences on your health. Your diet is already extremely restricted. To limit it even more could turn out to be dangerous.